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Raymond Around the World: Japan

Raymond has been quite the little traveller during his downtime this year. We’ve already told you about his adventures in Ventura, Portland, Orlando, and San Francisco, but he also travelled to places outside of the United States. Any guesses on where he went?

Japan!

When I told Raymond that I was going to Tokyo, Japan to visit a friend from university, he begged me to let him tag along. And how could I say no to his sweet reindeer face? Japan is one of my favourite countries, so I was excited for Raymond to experience it, too.

Raymond taking in Tokyo from our balcony in Setagaya

If you’ve been reading about Raymond’s escapades and if you know me at all, you know that we both love to experience new and different foods, especially when travelling. For me, trying out local cuisine is one of the best parts of travelling! Finding vegetarian dishes in Japan can be a little tricky, but we definitely found plenty to make our bellies happy

One Japanese dish I love is miso soup, and I was delighted with this giant, hot bowl that I had at Misogen. Full of okra, mushrooms, greens, and tofu skin, this soup really hit the spot for lunch. The steamed rice served with umeboshi [pickled plum] was an excellent accompaniment.

About to chow down at Misogen

When we decided that we wanted to try a new food, monjayaki, we headed over to Monja Street in Tsukishima where there are literally dozens of monjayaki restaurants to choose from. Monjayaki is pan-fried batter filled with chopped veggies and/or meat. It’s sort of a runnier version of one of my absolute favourite Japanese dishes, okonomiyaki [savoury pancake]. For both of these, you usually cook the food on a grill right at your table. However, with monjayaki, you eat it directly off the grill using a wee spatula.

Raymond and our natto monjayaki

Where else in the world do you think Raymond went this year? Stayed tuned to find out!